IIT Train Tube

A new McCormick Student Center at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaus, was to be linked to Chicago’s elevated “El” train system. Koolhaas’ solution to train noise was to create a steel-and-concrete tube to encase trains as they pass over the single-story, building.

Beam bending for a new muffler.

Beam bending provided by Chicago Metal Rolled Products produced 104,000 pounds of W12 x 58# beams the “hard way” to form a series of half ellipses with radiuses of approximately 12’, 24’ and 34’. Chicago Metal’s customer praised the beam bending for being distortion-free and for having a profile tolerance of less than 3/8 inch: “The product that we got from Chicago Metal Rolled was almost perfect—they’ve always done a great job for us.”

“We knew we could easily bend 12” beams for the top of the tunnel where the ellipse has the larger radii, but we were especially happy to provide our customer with the extremely tight 12’ radius on the sides,” said Chicago Metal Rolled Products VP of Engineering, Dan Wendt.

The tube muffles train noise on the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology. “From the point of view of both sound and vibration, it’s working, inside and outside the building,” said IIT Director of External Relations David Baker. “The El doesn’t create noise as it goes by campus any more.”